Conventional vacuum cleaning units usually experience serious limitations when used for apartments, condominiums, high rises and other multi-story buildings. Traditionally, janitorial crews have been required to haul portable vacuum cleaning units up to each floor. This procedure is time and labor intensive and far from efficient. Additionally, portable vacuum cleaners often lack the horsepower and suction required in commercial or industrial business settings.
Mobile janitorial services have employed vacuum units that are mounted in a truck or other service vehicle. These systems eliminate the need to haul the vacuum to the various floors of the building. However, hoses must be run from the vehicle to the respective floors to be cleaned. Typically, the hoses are run up the sides of the building and into windows or through trash chutes. In any case, this technique is again time consuming and often unwieldy. Difficulty may be encountered in deploying the hoses through windows and trash chutes and around corners. This operation becomes even more difficult at great heights. Indeed, mobile vacuum units are normally limited to servicing buildings of 10 floors or less. High pressure solution lines or hoses for washing floors and carpets are also awkward to deploy at such heights.
Central vacuum cleaning units are known wherein vacuum pipes and hoses are constructed in the building. To date, most such units are limited to private residences. It has not been practical to use these systems in high rise structures. Current central vacuum systems often employ intricate piping constructions and are difficult, if not impossible, to retrofit in existing buildings. Moreover, central vacuum units lack the convenience and efficiency of mobile vacuum systems. Unlike vehicle-mounted vacuums, the debris collected by the central vacuum unit is not disposed of immediately. Instead, personnel must periodically remove debris from the vacuum apparatus and prepare the waste for disposal.
Rukavina, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,705,437, discloses a central vacuum system wherein a pressure line and a vacuum line extend between a lower level and a single upper level. The respective lines are fully exposed and unattractive. Moreover, they extend only between two floors. To date, no known system efficiently integrates the vacuum hoses and solution lines fully within the walls of the building such that they are totally hidden. Also, no convenient systems are known for servicing high rises having three or more separate levels.